Pile fabric



Npv. l5, 1938. A I w, G, MccuLLoUGH 2,l37,z"..( )3v PILE FABRIC FiledOct. 6,l 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 PILE INVENTOR W/LL/s G. M? Cagol/6H.

ATTORNEY I Nov. 15., 1938.

w. G. MccuLLouGl-l 2,137,203v

PILE FABRIC Filed oct. 6, 1957 2 sheets-sheet 2 .IAN .QNRN

INVENTOQ.. WILL/5 G. MQ C0 oz/6H.

` ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 15, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEA ford, Conn.,assignor to Collins & Aikman Co'rporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a,corporation of Delaware Application October 6, 1937, Serial No. 167,515

12 Claims.

My invention is directed to a woven pile fabric and it comprises almethod of producing an indistinct but visual pattern effect on the pileface of the fabric, even .then pile yarns of the same color are used andwhen the pile height is uniform throughout the fabric. This result maybe accomplished in accordance with my invention, with the use of a loomreed having equal dent spaces', by grouping the backing and pile warp l0yarns during weaving in said dents and by so interlacing the saidbacking and pile warps that after weaving, these warps will re-alignthemselves to form an indistinct pattern on the face of the pile fabric.anchored in this re-aligned position by a normally insoluble adhesivesuch as properly Icompounded latex or other rubber compositions.

Pile fabrics and particularly those having animal fibre yarn such asmohair and wool, or. a mixture of animal fibre yarn, cotton and/orsynthetic :libres to form the pile are highly desirable for upholsterywhich is subject to rough and hard treatment, for example, use inautomobiles. The use to which such fabrics are put backing and for thepile, be of substantial diameter and strength, and this, aswell asmanufacturing economy,'has made it necessary tol use in practice arelatively small number of wefts or picks per inch, say. between 25 and40. My invention contemplates features of economy by the use ofcommercially practicable yarns because as the size of the pile yarn isincreased, its cost per pound decreases. In fabrics woven according to apreferred practice of my invention, the pile tufts are made from yarnsof greater diameter than the backing threads and are each supported attheir sides and at their ends to give complete coverage of the groundthreads, not- 40 withstanding the shortness ofv the pile.

An object o f my invention is to provide, without the use ofconventional pattern shedding mechanism, a cut pile fabric in which thepile tufts are anchored in position by an adhesive and which has anindistinct pattern.

A further object of my invention is to provide a method of weavingwhereby a reed having equal dent spaces may be instrumental in producingpattern` effects in the finished pile fabric.

A further object of my invention is to provide a porous or air-permeablecut pile fabric having an indistinct pattern, the tuftsof which areformed from pile yarns of substantial size which effectively conceal theground warps and wefts The pile tufts may then be requires that ltheyarn used therein,l both forwthe,

kand thereby avoids the objectionable grinning a pattern pile fabric bydrawing through some of the reed dents of a double plush loom aplurality of pile warp yarns, each having a diameter larger than themaximum diameter of pile warp yarn-which with the customary knotstherein, can be drawn inpractical weaving through reed dents havingone-half the width of said reed dents and associating a plurality ofpairs of upper ground warps and a plurality cf pairs of lower groundwarps and subsequently impregnating the fabric locally to keep the faceof the fabric free of impregnating material.

' These and other objects of my invention will become readily apparentfrom a considerationA of the following description and claims.

In accordance with my invention in the emin the accompanying drawric Iais illustrated as comprising warps 2 interlacing with the wefts 3 in atsto support the pile tufts 4. In the practice of my invention, I mayutilize a double shuttle loom (Fig. IV) come prising al frame 5 on whichis mounted a lay 6 driven through a pitman 'l and crank shaft 8. Groundwarps 9 are drawn from a warp beam I0 and form superposed and convergingsheds Il and I2. Pile yarn I3 is drawn about rolls I4 from anindependent source of supply and together with the backing warps formthe fabric I after passing through the harnesses I 5 and the reed I6.The double fabric'moves forwardly during weaving and is cut apart intosingle webs by the cutter I1, one of which webs is directed around theroll I8 and the reversing roll I9, and the other of said webs is guidedover the roll 20. Both of said webs are then taken up by conventionalmechanism not shown.

In weaving pile fabric in accordance with my invention, (Fig. III) eightground warps and two pile' warps may be drawn through some of the dentsand four backing warps and one pile warp may be drawn through other ofthe reed dents.

Each of said pile warps may have a diameter larger than the maximumdiameter of pile warp yarn, which with the customary knots therein, canbe drawn in practical weaving through reed dents having one-half theWidth of said reed dents. Fig. III illustrates a repeat of the drawingin of warp threads through the dents to form a pattern in Vaccordancewith my invention. It should be understood, however, that I do not wishto be confined to the use of the eight ground threads and two pile warpsin two adjacent dents, and the four backing threads and one pile warpyarn in the third dent. The grouping in the reed dents may be alternateor the set of four backing threads and one pile yarn may be in everyfourth, fifth or sixth dent. This invention contemplates broadly thatall the pairs of ground warps of a pile fabric be woven in flats andthat the ground warps in a dent carrying a pile warp should interlacewith the wefts in fiats in the identical manner and over the same weftsas the next adjacent ground warps of a next adjacent reed dent, whetherthe pile be V, W, or uncut in the finished fabric. .When the fabric isremoved from the loom, it will be seen that the original reed groupingwill have been destroyed and that the said adjacent ground warps andtufts have crowded together in part and re-aligned themselves, asillustrated in Figs. I and II of the drawings. As can clearly be seen onFigs. I and II, all the ground warps 2 interlace with the fillingthreads 3 in fiats and in each instance pass over the filling aboutwhich the V-tufts are looped. This crowding and 'an indistinct andattractive pattern is formed on the face of the fabric. A suitablefabric within the scope of my invention has been woven with a 56 inchreed having approximately 67 per cent. of free space and 868 equal dentspaces, said fabric comprising 2/30s cotton backing warps, 2,/24sworsted count blend pile warps containing animal fibre and 1/8s cottoncount weft yarn inserted 32 to the inch.

As will be seen in Figs. III and IV, some of the pile warps are shed tointerlace in the upper ground while others of the pile warp are beinginterlaced with the lower ground on one rotation of the crank shaft 8and are at all times spaced from one another by four ground warps duringWeaving. On the next revolution of the crank "shaft, the pile warps areshed oppositely to introduce the first group of pile warps in the lowerground and the other group in the upperground as illustrated in theweaving and shedding diagram, (Fig. III)` Y In Fig. III, the dots depictthe ground warps and the cross-sections the pile warps in theirrespective raised positions, whereas the blank spaces indicate that thepile or backing thread. as the case may be, is in the down position. Thebacking warp harnesses I5 are shown in pairs for weaving in flats.Reading from left to right in Fig. IlI, the four rectangles under B showthe position of a bottom backing or ground yarn during four successivepicks. T denotes a top backing or ground yarnand P the pile yarns. It isto be understood that Fig. III illustrates all the backing and pileyarns in a repeat of three dents fo-r two fabrics which are cut apart onAthe loom after fabrication. l

Prior to impregnation for the purpose of anchoring the tufts to thebacking, the fabric may be scoured to remove the water-repellent oilsnaturally carried thereby or artificially incorporated therein, and anyexcess of water incorporated in the fabric as a result of the scouringand rinsing may be removed by a suction or blowing apparatus. mayl havecollected in the relatively large interstices between the single rows oftufts and between the single rows of tufts and the double rows, and asjust sufcient adhesive is applied to the back of the fabric to anchorthe tufts, the pile face remains free of adhesive and the fibres of thebacking yarn are thoroughly permeated and surrounded by adhesive whichconfines itself substantially to the backing thread and adjacent piletuft area and does not fill the interstices between the ground threads.

'I'he tips of the pile bights, passing as they do around a single weftthread over which the warps pass in fiats, are exposed on the back ofthe fabric. 'I'he tips of the pile bights may be scraped and all excessadhesive thereby removed.l This scraping operation may be done with theimpregnating blade concurrently with or immediately followingimpregnation, and is so effective that the presence of adhesive in thefabric is in most cases diiiicult to determine.l must be sufficientadhesive material deposited and suiiicient concentration'and viscosityof the compound to securely anchor the pile tufts without the adhesivecontacting the pile face. It has been found, by the removal of thewater-repellent oils, that the anchoring power of the adhesive is soincreased that a very short tuft may be used and the distinctiveness ofthe design increased.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. In the manufacture of pilefabrics having warp-wise extending groups of a plurality of rows ofpile, the steps which comprise guiding a plurality of ground warpthreads and a pileforming Warp yarn through reed dents separated fromone another by a wire, interweaving the ground warp threads with fillingthreads in flats to form a ground fabric, interlacing some of the pileyarns with the ground between two ground warps forming fiats and aboutonly those filling threads over which the ground warps lie when thefabric is face up, interweaving others of the pile yarns with the groundbetween pairs of next adjacent ground warps in next adjacent reed dentsin the same manner and over the same filling threads and interweavingground warp threads, which do not support the said pile yarns, withlling threads and over those filling threads about which the said pileyarns are not looped whereby the original reed spacing will have beenlost and the warps re-aligned.

. 2. In themanufacture of pile fabrics having Warp-wise extending groupsof a plurality of rows of pile and single rows of pile spaced from thegroups, the steps which comprise guiding a plurality of ground warpthreads and pile-forming warp yarns through reed dents separated fromone another by a wire, interweaving the ground Warp threads with fillingthreads in flats to form a ground fabric, interlacing some of the pileyarns with the ground between two ground warps forming iiats and aboutonly those filling threads over which the ground warps lie when thefabric is face up, interweaving others of the pile yarns with the groundbetween pairs of next adjacent This latter step removes any water whichThere ground warps in next adjacent reed dents in the which none of thegroup pile-forming yarn is looped whereby the original reed spacing willhave been lost and the warps re-aligned, and securing the pile to theVground by an adhesive which does not fill the interstices of theinterwoven threads.

3. In the face' to face manufacture of pile fabrics having warp-wiseextending groups of a plurality of rows of pile, the steps whichcomprise providing'a, set of ground warps for each fabric, guidingl aplurality of ground warp threads and a pile-forming warp yarn throughreed dents separated from one another by a wire, interweaving the groundwarp threads with filling threads in flats to form ground fabrics,interlacing some of pile yarns with the grounds between two ground warpsforming ats and about only those filling threads in each ground overwhich the ground warps lie when the fabrics are face up, interweavingothers of the pile yarns with the ground between pairs of next adjacentground warps in next adjacent reed dents in the same manner and over thesame filling threads and interweaving ground warp threads, which do notsupport the said pile yarns, with filling threads and over those fillingthreads about which the said pile yarns are not looped.

4. In the face to face manufacture of pile fabrics having warp-wiseextending groups of a plurality of rows of pile and single rows ofpilespaced from the groups the steps which comprise providinga set ofground warps for each fabric, guiding a plurality of ground warp threadsand pile-forming yarns through reed dents separated from one another bya wire, interweaving the ground warp threads with filling threads inflats to form ground fabrics, interlacing some of the pile yarns withthe grounds between two ground warps forming flats and about only thosefilling threads in each ground over which the ground warps lie when thefabrics are face up, interweaving others of the pile yarns with theground between pairs of next adjacent ground warps in next adjacent reeddents in the same manner and over the same filling threads of therespective fabrics, interlacing still others of the pile yarns with theground and about-those filling threads about which none of the grouppile-forming yarn is looped, and cutting the fabric into webs.

5. In the manufacture of V-pile fabrics having warp-wise extendinggroups of a plurality of rows of pile, lthe steps which comprise guidinga plurality of ground warps threads and a pileform ing warp yarn throughreed dents separated from one another by a wire, interweaving the groundwarp threads with iling threads in flats to form a ground fabric,interlacing some of the pile yarns with the ground between twogroundwarps forming ats and about only those filling threads over which theground warps lie when the fabric is face up, interweaving others of thepile yarns with the ground between pairs of next adjacent warps in nextadjacent reed dents in the same manner and over the same filling threadsandinterweaving ground warp threads, which do not support the said pileyarns, with filling threads and over those filling threads about whichthe said pile yarns are not looped whereby the original reed spacingwill have been lost and the warps re-aligned.-

6'. vIn the manufacture of- V-plle fabrics having Warp-wise extendinggroups of a plurality of rows of pilev and single rows of pile spacedfrom the groups, the steps which comprise guiding a plurality of groundwarp threads and pile-forming warp yarns through reed dents separatedfrom one another by a wire, interweaving the ground warp threads withfilling threads'in iiats to form a ground fabric, interlacing some ofthe pile' yarns with the ground between two ground warps forming iiatsand about only those filling threads over which the ground warps liewhen the fabric is face up, interweaving others of the pile yarns withthe ground between pairs of next adjacent warps in next adjacent reeddents in the same manner and over the same filling threads andinterlacing still others of the pile yarns with the ground and aboutthose filling threads about which noneof the group pileforming yarn islooped whereby the original reed spacing will have been lost and thewarps realigned, and securing the pile to the ground by an adhesivewhich does not lill the interstices of the interwoven threads.

7. In the face to face manufacture of V-pile fabrics having warp-wiseextending groups of a `plurality of rows of pile and single rows of pilespaced from the groups, the steps which comprise providing a'set ofground warps for each fabric, guiding a plurality of V ground warpthreads and pile-forming warp yarns through reed dents separated fromone another by a wire, interweaving the ground warp threads with fillingthreads in flats to form ground fabrics, interlacing some of the pileyarns with the grounds between two ground warps forming iiats and aboutonly those, filling threads in each ground over which the ground warpslie when the fabrics are face up, and interweaving others of the pile.yarns with the ground between pairs of next adjacent ground warps innext adjacent reed dents in the same manner and over the same filling`threads and interlacing still others of the the ground warp threadswith filling threads in flats to form ground fabrics, interlacing someof the pile yarns with 'the grounds between two ground warps formingflats and about only those filling threads in each ground over which theground warps lie when the fabrics are faceupf interweaving others of thepile yarns with the ground between pairs of next adjacent Vground warpsin next adjacent reed dents in the same manner and over the sameIfilling threads, inter lacing still others of the pile yarns with theground and about those filling threads about which none of the grouppile-forming yarn is looped, cutting the fabric into webs, and securingthepile to the ground by an adhesive which does not fill the intersticesof the interwoven threads.

9. In the manufacture of pile fabrics having warp-wise extending groupsof a plurality of rows of pile and single rows of pile spaced from thegroups, the steps which comprise guiding a plurality of ground warpthreads and a pileforming warp yarn through a reed dent and twice thenumber of ground warp threads and two pile yarns in the next adjacentreed dent, said dents being separated by a reed wire, interweaving all.75

the ground warp threads with filling threads in ats to form a groundfabric, interlacing each of the pile yarns with the ground between twoground warps forming flats about on1y" those lling threads over whichthe ground warps lie when the fabric is face up, and interweaving pairsof next adjacent ground warps in the two dents with the ground in thesame manner and over the same filling threads and interlacing the othersof the pile yarns with the ground and about those filling threads aboutwhich none of the group pile-forming yarn is looped.

10. In the face to face manufacture of pile fabrics having warp-wiseextending groups of a plurality of rows of pile and single rows of pilespaced from the groups, the steps which comprise providing a set ofground warps for each fabric, guiding a plurality of ground warp threadsand a pile-forming warp yarn through a reed dent and twice the number ofground warp threads and two pile yarns inthe next adjacent reed dent,said dents being separated by a reed wire, interweaving all the groundwarp threads with filling threads in flats to form ground fabrics,interlacing each of the said pile yarns with the grounds between twoground warps forming ats and about only/those filling threads over whichthe ground warps lie whenthe fabrics are face up, interweaving pairs ofnext adjacent ground warps in the two dents with the ground in the samemanner and over the same filling threads and interlacing the others ofthe pile yarns with the ground and about those filling threads aboutwhich none of the group pile-forming yarn is looped.

11. An impregnated 4porous pile fabric. the tips of the pile of whichare free of irnpregnating material, which consists of a ground ofinterwoven warp and weft threads, said Warp threads being interwovenwith the wefts in` pairs which form ats, pile tufts positioned betweenwarps of each of the adjacent pairs and looped about and secured only toweft threads over which pairs of warps pass when the fabric is face up,at least four of the next adjacent of said ground warpsy and the piletufts they support being aligned in groups in which said last-namedground warps pass over the samewefts, additional'pile tufts positionedbetween other single pairs to form single rows of tufts and being loopedabout and secured only to weft threads over which said last-named pairsof warps pass when the fabric is face up, said additional pile tufts andtheir supporting warps also forming groups which are spaced from thefirst-named groups, adhesive- Securing means which does not fill theinterstices between the groups and which secures the pile tufts to theground.

12. An impregnated porous pile fabric, the tips of the pile of which arefree of the-impregnating material, which comprises a ground ofinterwoven warp and weft threads, said warp threads being interwovenwith the weft in' pairs which form flats, pile positioned between pairsof ground warps and looped about and secured only to weft threads overwhich pairs of warps pass when the fabric is face up, at least four ofthe next adjacent of s aid ground warps and the pile they support beingaligned in warp-wise extending groups in which the pile bights arelooped in pairs around the same wefts, additional pile positionedbetween other singlepairsof ground warps to form single rows of pile andbeing looped about and secured to weft threads over which saidlast-named pa'irs of warps pass when the fabric is face up, saidadditional pile and their supporting warpsforming groups which arespaced from the first said named groups, adhesive-securing means whichdoes not ll the interstices between the groups and which secures thepile to the ground.

WILLIS G. MCCULLOUGH.

